We recently learned that Charlie Sheen’s new TV series Anger Management has been picked up for a whopping 90 episodes, but Sheen also has a fairly high profile feature film role coming up soon. The actor stars in Roman Coppola’s A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III in which he plays a successful graphic designer whose fame and fortune have made him irresistible to women. After his girlfriend breaks up with him, he heads into a downward spiral that forces him to look back on his failed romantic history.
The first images from the film have landed online today, giving us a look at Sheen and co-stars Bill Murray and Jason Schwarztman in character. Moreover, we’ve also got some enticing plot details from Coppola, who’s probably best known professionally for his collaborations with Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling Limited). Hit the jump for more.
Speaking with EW, Coppola (son of Francis Ford Coppola) talked about the more fantastical aspects of the film:
“It’s not strictly realistic. In the film, because some of the sequences take place in the imagination of the main character, it goes to fantastical circumstances and settings. There’s a western sequence, there’s an underground spy-agency sequence. There are some playful touches that, for me, are cued off this main character, whose professional life is creating imagery, stylized imagery like album cover art.”
The writer/director also talked a bit about Schwarztman’s character and how he fits into Charles Swan’s life:
“Kirby is Swan’s best friend. He’s a recording star and stand-up comic. He’s a very successful comic, and they know each other because Swan did all his album covers. The premise is when Swan loses his girlfriend and it really pulls the carpet out from under him, all he can do is reach out to the people he’s intimate with, and Kirby is his best friend. It’s a very familiar thing if you’ve ever broken up with someone.”
Given Sheen’s recent behavior and its similarities with the Charles Swan logline, the pic is sure to draw a bit of attention. Coppola doesn’t deny the parallels, but he insists that Sheen was chosen for his acting chops:
“Charlie is so perfect for the role, but he’s not perfect because of the public profile we’ve seen in the news. He’s incredibly talented as an actor, he has tons of charisma, he’s very witty. He’s very funny and charming. You can use your charm sometimes as a problem solver — and my character, that’s what he’s been doing. He’s been sliding through on life, using his charm and wit and charisma to get past some problems. But the problems are still there, and that’s the story of the movie."
Coppola previously directed the 2001 feature film CQ, but A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III is certainly a more ambitious and high profile project. It’ll be interesting to see how audiences respond to Sheen taking on a lead role in a major feature, especially with the fantastical touches from Coppola. We’ll find out when the film hits theaters in February 2013.
